New York Yankees

YANKEES (26-16) Brett Gardner CF Robinson Cano 2B Vernon Wells LF Travis Hafner DH Lyle Overbay 1B Curtis Granderson RF Jayson Nix SS David Adams 3B Austin Romine C RHP David Phelps Phelps vs. Blue Jays BLUE JAYS (17-25) Melky Cabrera LF Jose Bautista RF Edwin Encarnacion DH J.P Arencibia C Adam Lind 1B Brett Lawrie 3B Colby Rasmus CF Maicer Izturis SS Emilio Bonifacio 2B RHP Brandon Morrow Morrow vs. Yankees TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES Network WEATHER: Temperatures are in the mid to high 60s. It’s cloudy, but there’s only a 10 percent chance of rain. UMPIRES: HP Rob Drake, 1B Sam Holbrook, 2B Joe West, 3B Andy Fletcher PECKING ORDER IN TACT VS. JAYS: The Blue Jays were expected to contend in the AL East this year, but the Yankees have won seven of the last eight between the teams this year. NO EXTRAS, THANK YOU: The Yankees will play one short today unless Reid Brignac arrives in time, but that isn’t expected. They acquired Brignac last night and DFA’d Alberto Gonzalez, but Brignac is still in transit. For their sake, they don’t want to go into extra innings tonight, that’s for sure. THEY HAVE HIS BACK: Yankee relievers have pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings in support of Phelps during his three starts. I’ll have pregame notes in a bit. They were delayed because Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman were available prior to today’s game. Check back for more from Steinbrenner in a few minutes. In the meantime, I’ll post some updates here and on Twitter @LoHudYankees, which I will man today in Chad’s stead. The post Game 43: Yankees vs. Blue Jays appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

MYSTERY SOLVED: BEN FRANCISCO HAS NAKED PICTURES OF BRIAN CA$HMAN Ben Francisco survives!!! Gonzalez DFAed — Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 18, 2013 Cashman on Francisco said with a laugh: “In terms of your fans’ comments section, just say, ‘I’m holding on to him to piss everyone off,”+ — Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 18, 2013 Cashman (2 of 2) on Francisco: If you are dealing with the feedback, ‘Why is this guy here?’ Just tell them that, just to shut them up.” — Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 18, 2013 Cashman joked that he was holding onto Francisco “to piss everybody off.” He knows Francisco’s popularity with the fan base. — Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) May 18, 2013

(Elsa/Getty) The Yankees have won seven of their first eight games against the Blue Jays this year, which is pretty close to the best case scenario. Regardless of what happened elsewhere around the league, the Bombers had to take care of business against their division rivals if they wanted to compete despite all of the injury problems. They’ve certainly laid a beating on Toronto so far. Here’s the lineup the Yankees are running out there against right-hander Brandon Morrow… CF Brett Gardner 2B Robinson Cano LF Vernon Wells DH Travis Hafner 1B Lyle Overbay RF Curtis Granderson – first career start in right SS Jayson Nix 3B David Adams C Austin Romine And on the mound is the former Mat-Su Miner in the collegiate summer Alaska Baseball League, right-hander David Phelps. It’s a little overcast in New York, but there’s no threat of rain or anything. The game is scheduled to start a few minutes after 1pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy. Eduardo Nunez Update: Nunez (ribcage) is expected to start hitting in the batting cage in a few days. He’s eligible to come off the DL next Tuesday, but David Adams’ nice start and the recently acquired Reid Brignac means there’s no need to rush him. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogGame 43: Beat the Jays

From the Heyman himself, the Yankees have reportedly traded for shortstop Reid Brignac, who was recently DFA'd by the Rockies. They're really cornering the market on DFA'd Rockies, aren't they? Chad Jennings of LoHud has not heard of anything heading back to the Rockies in the trade, but my guess is that will be just cash or a meaningless player to be named later, as it was in the Chris Nelson deal. Brignac is 27 years old and has been in the majors for six years now, and he was spending his first season away from the Tampa Bay Rays organization, which selected him in the second round of the 2004 MLB Draft. He's your classic all-field, no-hit shortstop, though he might have a little bit more pop than Alberto Gonzalez. Two of his eleven career dingers came in 10-5 victory over the Yankees on July 17, 2010, and another was a walk-off against the Meat Tray in a previously scoreless eleven-inning game. I'll have a little more on this in a bit. No word yet on who will be DFA'd to make room for him, but it almost has to be Gonzalez since they are essentially the same player.

CBS’ Jon Heyman reporting the Yankees have acquired utility infielder Reid Brignac from the Rockies. Brignac was designated for assignment by the Rockies earlier this week. He was let go by the Rays earlier this spring. No word yet on what the Yankees sent to Colorado in return. I’ll have more on the Brignac move in a bit, as well as some thoughts from Hal Steinbrenner, who is on the field with the rest of the team this morning for Photo Day. Brian Cashman is also at the park today. The post Yankees acquire Brignac appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

(Mike McGinnis/Getty) Another day, another infielder. The Yankees have acquired Reid Brignac from the Rockies for just $75k in cash, reports Jon Heyman. He’s basically free, at least in baseball terms. No word on the corresponding roster move(s), but I assume he’ll replace Alberto Gonzalez. The team has not yet officially announced anything. Brignac, 27, was designated for assignment by the Rockies a few days ago. He’s the second infielder New York has acquired from Colorado this month, joining Chris Nelson. Brignac hit .250/.294/.375 (65 wRC+) before being cut, and his career line is .228/.270/.321 (60 wRC+) in 769 plate appearances. He won’t steal any bases or draw walks (career 4.9 BB%). You surely remember him from his time with the Rays from 2008-2012. As a left-handed bat who grades out as an average or better defender at the three non-first infield positions, Brignac is a marginal upgrade over Gonzalez. He’s probably better suited to play shortstop everyday than Jayson Nix and the currently injured Eduardo Nunez as well, at least against right-handers. The Yankees should be all about marginal upgrades at this point, every little bit of help counts. No word on when he’ll join the team. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogYankees acquire Reid Brignac

The Juice returns for season No. 6! It’s almost eligible for free-agency! Stop by daily for news from the action, along with great photos, stats, video highlights and more. With their desired lineup intact for the first time in 40 games, the Atlanta Braves offense turned it up a notch in their 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Heyward, who just returned from the disabled list on Thursday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy in Colorado last month, reached base three times to help set the table. Justin Upton then cleared it in the sixth, cracking his third career grand slam off Paco Rodriguez. ”As soon as he took that swing, I knew that ball was going to be out of the ballpark,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. ”That was one of the prettiest swings I’ve seen put on a baseball.’ After traveling an estimated 461 feet, we’re sure the baseball agreed with Gonzalez’s assessment. It was Upton’s tenth homer — out of 14 — to travel over 420 feet this season. He’s averaging 427 feet on all of his home runs, which is the most for any players with more than five. Just awesome, game-changing power. As we’re about to learn, though, the Diamondbacks aren’t exactly lacking that type of player despite trading Upton during the offseason. But boy how nice would it be to have two of them? Good as Goldy : How about the start for Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt? After going 4 for 5 with two more home runs and 4 RBIs in the D-Backs 9-2 win over the Marlins on Friday night, the 25-year-old slugger is up to .338 on the season with 12 big flys and 35 driven in. Only Upton has more homers in the National League with his 14. Goldschmidt is also second in RBIs to Brandon Phillips. An all-star bid seems more likely with each passing day. Hiroki Special: For the fifth time since the beginning of the 2012 season, Hiroki Kuroda gave the New York Yankees eight plus innings of scoreless baseball. Only Felix Hernandez has more during that time with eight. Kuroda didn’t have much room for error on this night as Mark Buehrle nearly matched him through six innings. New York did manage single runs in the first and fifth, and then finally broke it open with a three spot in the seventh to lock up their 5-0 win. Rosales strikes again! And this time… it counts! After hitting a game-tying home in Cleveland last week that was incorrectly ruled (despite a review) a double, Adam Rosales left no doubt on Friday. His eighth inning solo home run was the difference in Oakland’s 2-1 victory over James Shield and the Royals. ”I think I was pretty sure about that one,” Rosales said with an ear-to-ear grin. ”It felt good to get over that hump. Every ballfield I went to, they all were saying, ‘Oh, it was a homer,’ or you talk to family and friends and like, ‘Yeah, it was a homer.’ So, now they’ll be talking about something else. They’ll talk about a real homer.” And more importantly, a real win. MORE SCORES Mets 3, Cubs 2: Matt Harvey gets the win on the hill and the game-winning RBI at the plate. He’s already 5-0. Phillies 5, Reds 3: Philly gets two in the eighth after bullpen blows lead for Cliff Lee. Pirates 5, Astros 4: The Astros lose in the most Astros way possible . Indians 6, Mariners 3 (10 inn.): Three-run, walk-off home run by Jason Kipnis sends Indians fans home happy. Your browser does not support iframes. Rays 12, Orioles 10: Camouflaged Rays strike early and often, then hold on as O’s rally for six runs in eighth. Red Sox 3, Twins 2 (10 inn.): Boston steals another game late on the road. Jonny Gomes’ sac fly in the tenth is the difference. Tigers 2, Rangers 1: The pitching duel scheduled for Thursday arrived one day late. Cardinals 7, Brewers 6: David Freese’s long-awaited first home run in 2013 was a grand slam. That helped St. Louis overcome tw

Josh Thomson here for Chad today. Curtis Granderson will make his 1,046th career start today but his first in right. He worked there during his rehab this spring. Joe Girardi said he had a conversation with Granderson, who had no issue with the move. More on that later. Travis Hafner (shoulder) will return to the lineup and bat cleanup today as well. Brett Gardner CF Robinson Cano 2B Vernon Wells LF Travis Hafner DH Lyle Overbay 1B Curtis Granderson RF Jayson Nix SS David Adams 3B Austin Romine C RHP David Phelps The post Granderson to make first career start in RF appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

Brett Gardner CF Robinson Cano 2B Vernon Wells LF Travis Hafner DH Lyle Overbay 1B Curtis Granderson RF Jayson Nix SS David Adams 3B Austin Romine C Well, isn't this lineup starting to shape up? With Nix getting hot, and Adams showing off a well in his debut, the Yankees actually have a pretty deep lineup against Toronto's Brandon Morrow. It's been two weeks since Morrow pitched, due to neck and back issues, and he'll face off against David Phelps this afternoon at 1:05 PM.

David Phelps vs Brandon Morrow this afternoon at the Stadium. I’m headed out early and the line-ups aren’t posted yet. Be back later with the recap. Enjoy this fine–if overcast–spring day, y’all. Never mind getting complacent now: Let’s Go Yank-ees! [Painting by John Musgrove]